Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
[1] Miss Leena Miss Benare is the chief protagonist and heroine of the
Benare play. She is thirty four years old, self – dependent
successful unmarried school teacher. Tendulkar has
presented her as an intelligent and matured lady with her
own conviction.
[2] Mrs. Kashikar Mrs. Kashikar is the wife of Mr. Kashikar who represents
typical Indian housewife dependent on her husband for
everything.
[3] Sukhatme Sukhatme plays an important role in the prosecution of
Benare. He is a lawyer – cum – actor and is unsuccessful in
his own career. Sukhatme upholds the principle that
woman is not fit for independence.
[4] Mr. Kashikar Mr. Kashikar becomes the judge in the mock trial in the
play. He is a disgruntled sadist figure like other men in the
play except Samante. He belongs to the category of urban
character.
[5] Samante Samante is a rustic uneducated villager in a galaxy of
educated urban characters. He is pure at heart and stands
for justice. He is not a professional, but he is honest,
helpful and compassionate.
[6] Prof. Damle Professor Damle is a married man live with family. He
leaves Benare pregnant and disowned responsibility.
[7] Other Characters There are some other characters such as Ponkshe, Karnik
and Rokde.
Satirical Attack in The Title
Tendulkar satirically attacks on the society with the title “Silence! The Court
is in Session.” There is no silence or discipline in the court, and even the wife of
the judge Mrs. Kashikar disturbs the court all the time. Thus, in this way, the word
“Silence” seems more impactful.
The title, “Silence! The Court is in Session” is a powerful satire on modern
society. The famous critic N. S. Dharan points out that –It is the imposed silence on
Benare that gives the title its uniqueness and tells us about the mockery in the title.
So, here, the title can be justified as a satirical attack on the people of modern society.